Cicely Tyson is Broadway-bound

Dec. 3, 2012
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154451082CE063_The_Cinema_S / Charles Eshelman

by By Elysa Gardner
USA TODAY, USA TODAY

by By Elysa Gardner
USA TODAY, USA TODAY

After a hiatus of nearly 30 years, Cicely Tyson is heading back to Broadway.

The veteran actress, who will turn 80 on Dec. 19, is poised to star in a new revival of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, set to begin previews March 31 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in preparation for an April 23 opening. Tyson will play Carrie Watts, an elderly woman who defies her son and daughter-in-law to revisit the small Texas town where she grew up. The part was introduced on Broadway by Lillian Gish, in 1953; Geraldine Page played it in a 1985 film adaptation.

"For years I have been searching for the perfect project to bring me back to my true home -- the stage," said Tyson, who last appeared on the Great White Way in a 1983 production of The Corn Is Green, in a statement. "In many ways Broadway is my Bountiful and I'm eager and honored to return with this strong, passionate and funny character in a timeless American classic."

The revival, set for a 14-week engagement, will be directed by longtime Foote interpreter Michael Wilson.